A day where campus is closed and classes are cancelled at Syracuse University in order to celebrate student's academic accomplishments; however, many students use the day off from school to celebrate with parties outside on front lawns. Started in May of 2004, people usually associate the holiday from school as a drinking day. Thousands of students can be found partying outside on Euclid Avenue (a street right off of campus) partying from noon until 8p.m. Beer Pong and drinking occur on front lawns and drunks wander the streets. Syracuse Police Department and the Syracuse Department of Public Safety oversee the event, making sure it doesn't get too out of hand. Because of the block party, most students associate Mayfest with the day-long party on Euclid rather than the academic events occurring on campus. Due to this, in 2009 the academic event changed its name to SU Showcase. Many students were apalled by the name and still continue to call it Mayfest. Only in its first year has Mayfest occurred in May. Since then, it's taken place at the end of April before the end of classes.

Students see/do all of the following on Mayfest:
- Catch up on homework and projects that students put off until the last minute.
- An excuse to not do homework and go out and get drunk.
- Relax and take it easy.
- A day where you are friends with everyone. You can show up on people's lawns and can get free beer.
- Go up to cops and take drunken pictures with them and it's all right.
- Drink underage in front of cops and they don't care as long as you're not crossing the street with a beer.
- Hang out the sunroof of your car screaming while driving down Euclid and everyone will cheer you on.
- See people get stopped for carrying plastic bats.
- Stop Jonny Flynn on the sidewalk and take a picture with him.
- Get free food and drinks from strangers.
- Have people say hi to you who you don't even know.
- Watch people dance on the roofs of Frat Houses like they're cool.
- Laugh at people who make fools of themselves.

My friends and I got totally wasted on Mayfest.

Yo, are coming out on Mayfest?
Nah, I have to go do a science project at the SU Showcase.
Lame.

I couldn't go out on Mayfest because I had to catch up on all of the reading I haven't done all semester.

We saw Jonny Flynn walking down Euclid. Laura went up to him and we took a picture with him. That made our Mayfest.